Monster Hunter Portable 3rd Import Review – PSP

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is one of the better looking PSP titles out there. The amount of detail from the village to the maps is really a step in the right direction. The steam from the kettles to the flags blowing in the wind really add to the cheery atmosphere the village aims for. The color palette in the game is bright and cheerful and is prominent throughout the few hundred hours of game play. Monsters are extremely detailed and show real time damage as the battle progresses. The game looks so good that revisiting previous titles will cause you to cringe.

The areas take on a completely new look from night and day with small details like stars and mist only adding to the feel of the game. The armors and weapons have hundreds of small details showing other players immediately that you have crafted an armor piece from said monster.

They still haven’t managed to clean up the HUD, which ,in my opinion, has way too much going on. I often find myself not grabbing the map so I don’t have to stare at it taking up the right side of the screen. Take into account other players’ health and names are displayed on the left below the stamina and health bar and you have a lot going on.

Story and Gameplay

Lets get one thing out of the way here, Monster Hunter has never ever been about a story. The typical scenario is you’re a Hunter and your job is to hunt. You move up the ranks fighting harder and harder monsters while crafting better and better gear, which sometimes requires you to kill a certain set of monsters numerous times to do so. They typically end with a scenario of a great monster invading and you must repel or kill it to save the village. That is the same scenario here. So if you want story you wont find it in this title, or any other Monster Hunter title for that matter.

I found 3rd to be much too easy for previous fans of the series. What should have taken me a solid 100hrs in single player I blew out in 32hrs. The team behind 3rd is obviously trying to make this entry more appealing to first time players, and in that sense they have succeeded. Only until the later Monsters will you begin to let out a couple of curse words at your PSP screen. Nothing that will make you decide to quit, as the 3 chances you get is always enough.

The camera is debatable. You need to constantly adjust the camera while fighting to keep your target in sight. This is done with the left D-Pad and L trigger. The L trigger centers the camera directly behind you and the D-Pad controls like a right analogue. I enjoy the constant battle with the camera as I feel it adds to the intensity of a big battle. We’re going to knock some points off here as I am probably a small percentage of people with that view.

Felynes

Monster Hunter 3rd brings over the ability to hire a felyne, with a few minor changes. You can now hire 2 and equip them with custom armor and weapons from scraps left over by your gear creation. Having 2 helpers is what makes the game so much easier in my opinion. The Monsters you hunt wont be focused on you, constantly allowing more breathing room to heal and craft traps and bombs while they pummel your hired mates. Felynes will also be able to be sent out on hunts and mining quests, allowing you to gather more materials while you quest on your own. This is a welcome addition, as it cuts down on the time required gathering rare materials.

The guild hall returns for multilayer and recycles many of the single player quests but with harder monsters for the first few ranks. The higher ranked quests become extremely hard, throwing 2 monsters at you simultaneously. The higher rank you are, the harder the objective becomes and better gear becomes available to craft. The G rank level quests will have you fighting subspecies of previous monsters that are 10x harder. So if you thought the Barroth was hard the first time, wait until you meet his little brother.

You can import Monster Hunter 3rd from here if interested, or wait for the import version of the PS3 to be released from the same site. A North American release has not been announced for the PSP or the PS3 at the time of this review. Look for an update to the review on the differences found in the PS3 version when released.

Review

Pros

Cons

Gorgeous Game
Replayability is high
Great for beginners to the series

Not as deep as Freedom Unite
Seems too easy
Lack of infrastructure
Constant camera work needed

Rating

90%

This review is based on a retail copy of the PS3 version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd provided by Capcom.

Yes Eden the probability of it making its way stateside is just too low. The title sells a few million in japan and a few hundred thousand here when they do port it so its a money issue. The game plays like a western game so there is hope. It doesn’t have the hardcore Japanese feel to it.

There are 2 things I like about the MH-tri version on the Wii
i) Superior (or perhaps proper) controls for player movement and camera
ii) The Modular Bowgun system was actually really really cool

But then the PSP version is much prettier, has a lot more content, no retarded shakalaka sidekick, and has a lot less disconnects than nintendo’s online.
The modular bowgun system is gone for a fair reason: trying to come up with unique parts for each and every (new) monster would be a depressing task.

BTW: if i were interested in writing reviews akin this one, and PS3blog.net was interested in the opinions of a Canadian, who would I talk to?

Abkanis: There are 2 things I like about the MH-tri version on the Wii
i) Superior (or perhaps proper) controls for player movement and camera
ii) The Modular Bowgun system was actually really really coolBut then the PSP version is much prettier, has a lot more content, no retarded shakalaka sidekick, and has a lot less disconnects than nintendo’s online.
The modular bowgun system is gone for a fair reason: trying to come up with unique parts for each and every (new) monster would be a depressing task.BTW: if i were interested in writing reviews akin this one, and PS3blog.net was interested in the opinions of a Canadian, who would I talk to?

Big box in upper right of screen that says “Want to write for psblog etc Click it. or click this http://www.ps3blog.net/about/be-a-writer-for-ps3blog-net/ There is more then enough content to destroy the Tri version on wii. I have many characters on the Wii and this has destroyed all interest in playing Tri anymore. Im not one for a gunner char. I prefer LS over anything else with my fallback being Hammer.

Pedro: I thought the name of this blog was PS3blog.net…So this is basically Pokemon for Playstation ? LOLJust kidding, but I had to make those lame jokes, I can’t help it, don’t get angry bud. Nice review btw, I’d like some more insights on how the game plays and mechanics, but that’s about it! Great work!

We would have to devote a page for every weapon type. I didn’t want to go on and on and on. What is pokemon?